


Happy Ever After: The Story of Scarlet Uprising (Re-Edit)

by GhostHNW



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Friendship, Gen, Musicians
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2020-11-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:22:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26986648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GhostHNW/pseuds/GhostHNW
Summary: The last thing team RWBY ever expected is to form a band. After initial retaliation from Weiss, they formed the band called Scarlet Uprising for the Battle of the Band competition. However, they become an unexpected success, which wasn't part of the plan. How will they handle this sudden fame?Also, this fanfic also contains the demo of the titled song, 'Happy Ever After'. Link in the author's note at the end of the story.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna & Ruby Rose & Weiss Schnee & Yang Xiao Long, Jaune Arc & Pyrrha Nikos & Lie Ren & Nora Valkyrie, Team JNPR & Team RWBY
Comments: 4
Kudos: 5





	Happy Ever After: The Story of Scarlet Uprising (Re-Edit)

**Author's Note:**

> *  
> '-' - Pause for a moment  
> '~" - Pause for longer time  
> ',' - Stop  
> '>' - Quickly play the next note  
> '>>' - Quickly play the next note a sixteenth / 1/16 faster than the first one.
> 
> Link of the Happy Ever After demo:  
> https://www.bandlab.com/haziq_n/rwby-4cf37d97

"What?!" cried Weiss. She inspects the poster presented by Ruby about the Battle of the Band contest that will be held here in Vale three months from now. Ruby only smiles weakly and chuckles nervously. Weiss shakes her head in disbelief while Ruby folds the poster and places it next to her. "So, you want us, a bunch of ragtag Huntresses-to-be, to form a band for this competition, right?"  
"Well, we don't have to participate in the Battle of the Band. It's more like a motivation giver to compose music on our own."  
"Tell me, Ruby. Why do you think this is a good idea?" Weiss questions her.  
"Weiss, this is a perfect opportunity for us, Yang and Blake to hang out more. Besides, as I said, it's more of a motive to compose our music, so we don't have to worry about joining the competition," pleaded Ruby.  
"Well, do you have any experience with playing any instrument? Or writing songs on the fly?" Weiss questions Ruby.  
"Well, I can't do the latter well, but I can be the drummer of the band, and you can be the lead singer and 'keyboardist' of the band," Ruby suggests.  
"Then, who will be the lead guitarist and bassist?"  
"Yang can play the guitar both acoustic and electric perfectly, so she can be the lead guitarist. Logically, that would leave Blake to be the bassist, although I don't have much faith in Blake truthfully."  
"Which came to another point I would like to point out. Can't you see? I'm a Schnee. How can I perform well without the entire Remnant and my own family eyeing at me and be judgemental?" Weiss remarked. ' _She had a good point to make_ ,' Ruby thought. There is no way to counteract the argument.  
Luckily, Yang and Blake have arrived back from their shopping together. Ruby asks them about forming a band, with the response of perplexed face from Yang and Blake. Then, Ruby takes the poster and shows it to Yang and Blake, so they can understand what was she saying. Unlike Weiss, however, Yang and Blake are onboard with the idea despite how ridiculous it is. Well, Yang is elated by the idea with a caress on Ruby's head and the "Oh, yeah!" punch line while Blake is as nonchalant as the moss on the rock.  
"So, do you agree with the idea?" Weiss is in disbelief when they both agree.  
"Hell yeah! I can rock the stage with my solid guitar skill," Yang crowed.  
"I do kind of agree with Weiss. I don't know how to play any instrument, more so a bass," Blake confesses.  
"See, at least someone agrees with me," Weiss beams.  
"But I will learn to do it with Yang. So, I'm in." Well, that's one way to slap the face when she's least expected. Weiss is undoubtedly bitter that no one is ever listening to her, so she storms out of the dorm room in a temper. Meanwhile, Team JNPR, who was there at that time, notices Weiss storm out of her room and wondered why Weiss is angry. So, out of interest, they visit Team RWBY for an explanation.  
"Hey, guys," Jaune greets.  
"Hey, Jaune," Ruby greets back. Jaune asks Ruby why Weiss left the room. Ruby then shows team JNPR the Battle of the Band poster. Their reaction is mixed. Jaune looks bewildered with the poster. Nora is interested in the idea, judging by her enthusiastic face. Pyrrha and Ren expressing gratitude with a "That's cool!" response. However, Jaune expresses his concern over the idea, "Wouldn't that interfere with our study?"  
"It's only for the funsies. Besides, the competition will be held in summer and we do it just for the heck of it, so nothing's that serious," Ruby explains.  
"Are you sure about that?" This time, Pyrrha is the one who questions her.  
"It's fine, there's nothing to worry about," Ruby explains.  
"So, what type of genre do your band want to be?" Lie Ren asks Ruby.  
"Yeah! Are you going metal and rock & roll, or something more 'pop'?" Nora asked enthusiastically.  
"Indie," Ruby answers rather quickly, startling everyone in the room. "In... in...indie?!" stammeredYang as she didn't expect that indie would be Ruby's choice of genre for the band. "Combined with alt-rock," Ruby added.  
"I don't think anyone would pick indie and alt-rock as their choice for their band, especially for a girls' band," Jaune commented.  
"Furthermore, what about Weiss? I can see Yang being the lead guitarist, Blake being the bassist, and you are the drummer, but Weiss? I can't imagine her playing anything other than a piano," Pyrrha adds.  
"And that will be the unique part of the band!" Ruby reveals the truth.  
"Wait, what? Weiss will be a keyboardist of the band?" said Jaune.  
"More like a pianist, but yes," Ruby restates Jaune's statement.  
"Okay, let's assume that Weiss agrees to be part of the band, what will be the name?" Ren asks a simple question.  
"I'm still thinking of the name. So, I have been jotting down the name I found interesting on a website in this paper right here," Ruby mentions. Then, she shows everyone the list, so they can inspect the name she jotted down herself from that website, with a lot of perplexed faces. Why? Because all of those names are weird, with some are even weirder than the rest. However, she crossed out some of those names, probably either because it sounds weird or doesn't fit well with her band. Some of the name that isn't crossed out by Ruby such as;

  * Dream Below Spectator
  * After Sundown
  * Graceful of the Horizon
  * R.D.A.O
  * Scarlet Uprising
  * Untold of the Young
  * The Overjoy Sundae
  * These Reds are Pinks
  * Four Stars Aligned
  * Mrs Lovely Heart
  * Rebel Princess
  * Intrinsic Blue With Luscious Terminals



"Umm..." Nora attempts to think of any word but nothing's came out. And so does everyone else, staring at Ruby again with disconcerted face, in which Ruby only responds with a shrug of the shoulder. Then, Pyrrha eyeing on one particular name that intrigues her.  
"I like this name. Scarlet Uprising. It fits well with your type of band," suggested Pyrrha while she points on the name. Everyone agree with her suggestion, naming the band Scarlet Uprising. It has a nice ring to it.

~"~"~"~"~

Weiss sits alone in the library, viewing her haste decision and the ensuing argument with Ruby. Maybe she is overreacting too much. _I should go and talk to her_ , she whispers to herself. When Weiss is walking back to her dorm, she stumbles upon Ozpin, who was in his daily stroll routine around the campus. _Oh god! Why him?_ She tries to walk out but Ozpin sees her right away.  
"Ah, Ms Schnee. What brings you here?" asked Ozpin. Weiss tries to shut her mouth up to avoid spilling out the beans, but it failed. However, she keeps the knowledge of the Battle of the Band and the idea of a band a secret from Ozpin. Ozpin glances at Weiss, where she sweats profusely, hoping that Ozpin wouldn't find out.  
"It's normal for teammates to have a little fight with each other. However, you should know how to deal with your emotion sometime, as it can cloud your judgment. Have you talk to Mrs Rose yet about this?" Ozpin gives a piece of advice to Weiss. She nods her head before Ozpin places his hand on her shoulder. "Talk with her, Mrs Schnee." A little encouragement pat on the shoulder by Ozpin before he leaves Weiss alone in the hall again.  
In the meantime, Ruby and Jaune are hard-working at composing their first song. Both of them brainstorming ideas about what title and its respective lyrics could be, the bass, the guitar, Weiss's piano section, how it all stitches together nicely. Meanwhile, Yang teaches Blake how to play and tune her bass. Surprisingly, Blake is a fast-learner as just under two hours, she learns the chord and the tune, albeit still a bit amateurish. Still has the potential to make it perfect. Then, Nora comes rushing into the room, followed by Pyrrha and Ren.  
"You won't believe what we had just found," Nora burst in excitement. Everyone turns their attention to her as she announced, "We've found an abandoned warehouse where we can be used as our secret hangout spot where you can practice in peace and a place to hang out outside of Beacon."  
"That's great! Where is it?" said Ruby.  
"It's at the outskirts of Vale, shouldn't be far enough," Pyrrha tells her.  
"Also, it belongs to the Schnee, so Weiss can let us in if..."  
"I agree!" Ren tries to continue but is interrupted by none other than Weiss herself, who had just arrived in time. "Weiss!" everyone exclaims. Weiss only smirks while stating, "Well, it does belong to my family, so we have ourself a new hang-out spot." Everyone cheers except Ruby, who asks her the sudden change of heart. "Well, I do want a little hangout with friends I cherish with," Weiss replies.  
"Then, why with the aggressive defence when you were arguing with Ruby?" Blake asks her. Weiss takes a deep sigh before she explains her reason, "I don't want to humiliate myself. I am fine with a big crowd of nobles watching me, I am a noble myself. But a big crowd of common folks like all of you? No offence, but I would drown in the sea of anxiety if I performed for the mass. I would quiver in fear!"  
"Is that why you're against Ruby's decision, even though she specifically said that you guys don't have to join the Battle of the Band?" Jaune asks. Weiss nods gently.  
"Ohh...Come here, you little furball," Yang grants her a warm, lovely hug. Then, every member of team RWBY gives Weiss a group hug. Then, the entire team JNPR joins in as well. "Speaking of the competition, how do we submit?" Nora asks Ruby.  
"Well, it's easy. All we have to do is to send a voice recording of us playing either a cover or a song we produced on our own. Then, we send that recording to the organizers alongside our band's info, including the name of the band and its members."  
"And..." Nora waits.  
"The submission will end about two months from now," said Ruby.  
"So, what are we waiting for?" Ren asks. Everyone looks at each other with smirks and snickers. "Well, what are they doing there? Get moving!" told Ruby.

~"~"~"~"~

They arrive at the warehouse, and frankly, it is far more salubrious than they expected. While it is empty, it's probably the cleanest one they have ever seen. It doesn't even have graffiti spray on any wall, which is remarkable since this warehouse belongs to Weiss's family business and located at the outskirts. And weirdest one of all, there is a grand piano sitting next to the middle pillar and still in good condition, have been untouched from years. While everyone is in awe with their new hangout spot, Weiss goes straight to the piano and places her bag next to the pedestal.  
Weiss blows and sweeps away the dust collected on the piano. Then, she plays a little tune with her hand swiftly pressing every key and the chords with such elegance and precision. "Wow, you are talented," Yang compliments. Then, Weiss replies with a fast-tempo but lively jazz number right on the spot, which astounds even her teammate. "Jazz, as well?" asked Blake.  
"I am a jazz enthusiast. Luckily, my father allows me to play the piano whatever I want. So, I took my time to learn jazz from records I got from Klein."  
"Ooh...a rebellious one," Yang teases.  
"So, you could say that," Weiss blushes.  
"So, do you know about this warehouse?" asked Jaune.  
"Oh, I did. Since I was a kid till two years ago." Everyone is surprised because they thought Weiss would be a closeted-type girl, even if they know she can play the piano with ease. Ruby points down, as in this place, with her wide aghast eyes and Weiss nods confidently.  
"My father always comes here for business purposes and I always come here to play the piano here while my father is doing his own business. Suffice to say, I miss this piano. I also carve something on my piano right here," Weiss explains and then pointing at the carving " _Weiss is here ;p_ " at the side of the piano. "He didn't like me scratching the piano."  
"Wow, the way you said that your father is a loving kind," said Pyrrha. However, Weiss's smile turns into a frown while muttering, "As if..." but Ruby luckily changes the atmosphere back again when she tells everyone, "So, shall we start the practice?"  
"But, what about our instruments? We can't just play with an air guitar or bass like that. We look like a clown." Blake asks.  
"Oh, it should be inside that room over there." Weiss pointed out. Ruby and Jaune open the door pointed by Weiss and astonished to see guitars, basses, and keyboards fill the room. And all of them are brand new!  
"Did I forget to mention that this warehouse is used for other people as a secret studio? There's a secret group of people based in Atlas who want to spread the art of music in Remnant, so they supply a lot of musical instruments to warehouses like this, so people with musical talent can harness their talent without the interference of the government. This is one of them."  
"How do you know all of this?" asked Ruby. Instead of answering, Weiss only gives a little mischievous wink at Ruby. So, Ruby, Weiss, Jaune, and Pyrrha take the only drum set in the warehouse out. Yang brings out an electric guitar and Blake takes the bass of their desire. Then, they plug in the speaker and play a little test to make sure the speaker works properly.  
"So, where is the song, Ruby?" asked Weiss. Ruby then gives her the song she and Jaune spent on and Weiss examines every lyric while also simultaneously coming up with the melody right in her head. Then, she gives it back to Ruby and asks her to hit the ride cymbal. However, Ruby looks around in hesitation as to where the cymbal is before Weiss points to the cymbal on the far right of Ruby, in which Ruby replies with a giggle. While Ruby taps on the cymbal in a constant 'ting' pattern, Weiss plays the song in F major chord on the 6th octave as follow;

* F~C-A#>A-G, G>A-A#>A-G, C-A#-G>A>G>E,

F~C-A#>A-G, G>A-A#>A-G, D-C-A>C>A>G,

A~C~G, G>A#>A, G-E-F, F>E>D>C>A#>A,

F-C-A#>A-G, G>A-A#>A-G, C>>A-A#>A-G>F.

Then, Yang shows her guitar prowess by blasting out extraordinary riffs lines after lines following Weiss's tune, followed by Blake with a catchy bassline, alongside Ruby with some fast-paced, rage-pounding drum beat. "That's good," Weiss praises her team. However after that little show, Ruby complains that the fast-paced drumming brings discomfort on her wrist but she doesn't mind though.  
Ruby studies the songs once again and told both Weiss and Jaune that it needs some changes. So they all grouped up and sat on the floor not far from the piano as they discussed the lyric. In the meantime, Nora and Ren had just come back from their 'food hunt' with a plastic bag containing foods they bought with Weiss's credit card, lucky them. Yang shouts happily, "FOOD! Finally!"  
"Do you have any tuna?" asked Blake. Nora enjoys teasing Blake by waving the tuna can. Blake undoubtedly is angry when she tries to take her tuna from Nora but fails to do so. Eventually, Pyrrha has to snatch the can away and give it to Blake. "Thanks," Blake expresses her gratitude. Weiss looks at her Scroll to check on the time, it's almost 5 p.m.  
"We should go now," said Weiss.  
"Should we put it all back in the room?" asked Ruby.  
"No, I think they're fine leaving the instrument here. Just, we need to hang the guitar and bass on that rack right over there," told Weiss. Yang and Blake hang their respective guitar and bass on the rack pointed by Weiss and grab their bag. Weiss then closes the lid of her piano and switches off the light before leaving the warehouse together.  
And thus begin their three months of their secret double life, students by day, a bandmate of Scarlet Uprising by night alongside Team JNPR.

~"~"~"~"~

One thing that is constant throughout this time is that they only do this for fun, and don't take the competition seriously. So, it's okay for them if they don't qualify for the contest. They quickly finished the demo of their song titled " _Happy Ever After_ ", in the nick of time before the deadline. Team RWBY then heads to the studio to submit themselves. Once they arrive, they have the attention of the staff and the plenitude of bands from different genres, particularly because of the fact they are, Ruby, in particular, underage.  
When they arrive at the counter, the first thing the receptionist does is to chuckle at one particular person, Weiss. "Never in my life I see a wealthy person, a Schnee to be specific, to be a part of the band," laughed the receptionist hysterically. Their exasperated face said it all.  
"Tell me, girls. Do you have what it takes to compete with the best of the best?" asked the receptionist.  
"Yes," Ruby innocently answers. Everyone in the room laughed hysterically because of how naive Ruby is. Weiss whispers to Ruby, "Don't bother them. We will kick their butt."  
Ruby smile sincerely and thanks Weiss for the comfort. Then, the receptionist creepily turns to Yang, admiring something else with a perverted gaze. "Nice rack there for a beautiful girl like you," said the receptionist while also staring at Yang's breast. Yang asks, "Are you talking to me?"  
"That bright, sunny hair may compliment your look. But that rack...MAN! I would play with those."  
"Are you having a problem with me?" Yang clenches the fist in anger but quells by Blake with a little shook of the head. Team RWBY leaves the studio with nothing much to say other than Yang's mumble of anger because of the receptionist's comment.

It's only four days after they submit their demo to the organizers, but somehow, they feel anticipation for the submission result from the organizer. Who's out, who's in? Nobody knows! Ruby looks at her team with their nervous face. "Guys, I know this competition doesn't mean much for you but at the very least, we spent time together with each other and team JNPR," Ruby affirms.  
"Yeah, you're right, Ruby. Although we should have taken more time into the song," said Weiss. She smirks because what Ruby says is true even though they are mainly more focused on the song rather than socializing with each other.  
"C'mon, Weiss. Be happy that we made our first song," Yang cheers.  
"Assuming it is good," mused Weiss.  
"Don't worry about it, I'm sure it is as good as it is," Blake affirms her. Then, out of the blue, Nora bust right in their home as excited as multiple firework shows. The rest of Team JNPR follow suit as she holds her Scroll up excitedly and shows team RWBY the result page for the Battle of the Band. It's comprised of a list of 30 bands who are accepted into the stage. In that list listed their band, Scarlet Uprising as one of those accepted one. Her smile said it all. "You're in!" cheered Nora. _They're in_? Ruby's and Weiss's widened eyes express their shocking discovery.  
"Not only that, your song, " _Happy Ever After_ " became prevalent with constant radio waves and charted at the Remnant Music Billboard Top 100, peaking at number 3 this week," Ren added.  
"Do you know what that means?" Pyrrha hints. Ruby only shrugs her shoulders in confusion.  
"You're an overnight global sensation," Jaune spills the wait. Everyone cheers at Scarlet Uprising's overnight success. All except the worried Weiss. Ruby notices it and asks her what's bothering her. "Can't you see? This will be a huge problem for us," Weiss replies.  
"What do you mean? This is the time to celebrate," said Yang naively.  
"You don't get it, do you? This was supposed to be our secret project. If our song blows out in the public, that means Professor Ozpin and Glynda also know about it, which would expel us all in the worst situation." The optimistic atmosphere just a minute ago now turns gloomy after Weiss had said it. "Oh..." Yang realized what Weiss is worried about.  
"I did not consider that possibility," said Ren. Feeling shocked and a moment of reality realization, Ruby sits alongside Weiss. Ruby gulps nervously as she imagines the prospect of meeting Professor Ozpin and Glynda.  
"We're dead," frightened Ruby.  
"Super dead," Blake repeats.  
"Yep," All of them agree with her in unison.

~"~"~"~"~

Glynda plays a part of their song on her Scroll while Team RWBY and Team JNPR trembles and looks down in pure trepidation. She stops the recording and glares back at them. Ozpin calmly tells Team JNPR to leave the office since they only want Team RWBY here. Pyrrha gives a reassuring pat on the shoulder to Ruby before her team enters the elevator and leaves the office. With her arm crossed, Glynda angrily asked them, "What is the meaning of this?"  
"It's for the Battle of the Band submission," Ruby confesses.  
"And care to explain why your submission is on the radio, Ruby?"  
"We..." she pauses.  
"We never expect the song to blow up," Weiss helps Ruby.  
"Besides, we only do it for fun. We never take the competition seriously," Blake adds to Weiss's statement.  
"For fun, eh?" responded Ozpin. Their sweat is like a salty waterfall, dripping down their forehead until it soaks the carpet below. Ruby gulps nervously as Glynda proposes them week-long detention. However, unexpectedly, Ozpin had a different proposal. "If you won the Battle of the Band, then there will be a special performance just for you during the Vytal Festival." That proposal shocks everyone, including Glynda and Ruby.  
"Us? Performed at the Vytal Festival?" Yang stammers in disbelief while blinking her puzzled eyes.  
"I don't expect that," Blake spouted her disbelief.  
"I'm sensing a running theme here," Weiss whispers to Blake.  
"Well, do you accept this offer?" proposed Ozpin. Everyone in team RWBY looks at each other, wonder if they should accept the offer. Eventually after much mutters and whispers among each other, Ruby spoke, "We accept your offer."  
"That's settled then." With a handshake by Ruby and Ozpin, they left the office, feeling as if they have either escaped death or had just snatched a record deal. Glynda is confused, asking him, "Why did you give them permission?" Instead of answering, Ozpin gives a playful giggle, as if he's expecting it.

Once they arrive at the bottom with a jaunty walk, Team JNPR is waiting for them anxiously. "Are you okay?" Pyrrha worries.  
"Nope, we're okay," Ruby assures them. "We have a big announcement to make here."  
"What is it?" wondered Jaune. Ruby looks at her teammate with a smug.  
"We got invited to perform at the Vytal Festival if we won the Battle of the Band," Ruby spills the word. Team JNPR's astonished face, especially Nora's dropped jaw, summarized it. "You...got...INVITED?! TO PERFORM AT THE VYTAL FESTIVAL?!" Nora yells in disbelief. Ruby chuckles unconfidently and Weiss shrugs her shoulder, something she never thought to do. "Well, it's nothing to **fret** about," Yang joked.  
"Is that a pun?" asked Ren.  
"Yes," Yang responds quickly.  
"Jokes aside, do you have to win the Battle of the Band?" asked Jaune. Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang all admit shyly with a nod of the head. Everyone celebrates with hugs and the occasional "Hell yeah!" cheer. "So, what now?" Ruby doesn't expect them to participate in the competition, more so be able to perform during the Vytal Festival if they win the said competition. But with a confident smirk, she proclaims, "Scarlets! It's time for some uprising."  
"Do we have to?" Weiss questions.  
"The name of the band is Scarlet Uprising," Blake remarked.  
"Ugh..." Weiss grunted.

~"~"~"~"~

It's their first day of practice, and they have a lot of things to do. There's the intensive practice with their new song composed by the dear trio, Ruby, Jaune, and Weiss herself. Weiss plays the song on the piano in sync with Ruby's drumbeat, Yang's guitar riff, and Blake's bassline. Weiss then sang the lyrics of the song but they don't like it, not because of Weiss's voice, but because the lyrics do not fit well with the number. Weiss examines the lyrics thoroughly and tells Jaune, "We need to come up with new lyrics."  
"Now?" Jaune asks.  
"Yes, now."  
He reluctantly sighs, stands up, and shuffles with Weiss. While they were discussing, Blake unplugs her bass so she can sharpen her bass skill without interrupting their discussion with the help of Yang. Ruby tries to pass the boredom by tapping on her drum but Weiss hushes bitterly to her for the distraction. After twenty minutes of back and forth, Weiss regroups them back to their respective place as she lays down the new lyrics on the front lid. She plays the piece while singing to the chorus of the new lyrics. It flows perfectly with the tune, so team RWBY returns to the place and Ruby starts the tempo by hitting the ride cymbal.

The chorus works better than expected, surpassing it is more accurate. And everyone does agree with Weiss with a nod of approval. "So, what should we do to the rest of them?" Yang asks Weiss.  
"Jaune and I have to compose more of this and other songs, assuming if we try to create an album, but it's a good start," Weiss replies.  
"Also, we need more than a song for our performance because we need at least five songs, assuming if we secured our ticket to the final because the crowd don't want to hear the same old song again," Ruby notes.  
"So, we have a lot of things to do," said Weiss.  
Jaune and Ruby focus on the song while Weiss comes up with the piece alongside Yang and Blake. Nora and Ren have come back from their 'food hunt' while Pyrrha...well she has other stuff to do, so, unfortunately, she can't come to the practice today.  
"Lunch here!" yelled Nora.  
"Yes!" screamed Yang. As everyone prepares for the lunch, Blake has an unusual look, as if she is hearing something. And she does.  
"Someone is following you here," Blake cautioned.  
They pull their weapon up, bristled while watching the door for any suspicious activity. Then, they heard multiple footsteps coming towards the door. Then, the culprit is revealed, it was Ozpin. They put the weapon down and breathe a sigh of relief.  
"So, this is where you compose your smash hit music," said Ozpin calmly. Everyone looks at each other awkwardly. "It feels weird to be back here."  
"Wait, you're once a musician too?" asked Ruby curiously.  
"No," he responds. "But I have once taught a student that later became the greatest musician/Huntsman of all time. He used to go to this warehouse when he's a freshman in Beacon Academy." Curiosity glows in Weiss's eyes as if she is anticipating something. "Who's that person you've taught before?" she asked.  
"He goes by his stage name, Forrest J.O."  
"Forrest J.O.?! THE FORREST J.O.?!"  
"I see you are familiar with him, aren't you?"  
"Of course, I know him. I adore his works and even play some of his songs with my piano."  
"Let me guess, jazz," Ren guesses. Then, Weiss plays the song from one of his that she loves with fast-lightning pace and precision just to prove her point. Ozpin is even impressed by Weiss's random act with his genuine clap. "Well, that performance will certainly impress a certain person."  
"Who?" asked Jaune, puzzled. Instead of answering though, he moves out of the way from the door. Then, a lanky and suave figure suddenly appears from the door frame. He wears a formal, golden suit with a lit cigar on his mouth. Ah, he's a not-an-evil businessman, nothing suspicious there. "Hello there," said the man...in a somewhat menacing voice. Okay, I take it all back.  
"I'm Crimson Bronze. You've heard of me, don't you?" The name doesn't ring any bell to them with head shakes and shoulder shrugs.  
"I'm the CEO of the Revolution Record Inc. Does that name ring any bell?" He expects them to know but to his surprise, even the name of his company doesn't spark their thought. "Really? Have you not heard of the company?"  
"I'm sorry but we never heard of your company before," Blake tells him with brutal honesty.  
"Have you never heard of the song, 'Shock The World'?" That song sparked Ruby's memory.  
"Wait?! Are your company the record label that signed the band, Forbidden Nightfall? I love their songs!" exclaimed Ruby, being the fan of the band herself.  
"Oh, that song. I love their song, especially this and 'Astral Have Fallen'," Yang intrudes in the conversation.  
"So, what brings you here?" asked Weiss.  
"Well, what am I doing here anyway? Of course, I want to sign up for this new band called Scarlet Uprising. According to him, they usually practice here. Does anyone know about them?" Crimson explains his reason.  
"So, who's the member of the band?" I guess they don't want to miss the opportunity (I mean, why would they?), so Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang step forward, and Ruby reveals that they are Scarlet Uprising. Crimson laughs in disbelief at what he's seeing.  
"Wow, they weren't bluffing when they said Scarlet Uprising is a bunch of teenagers," Crimson laughs. "And better yet, we have a Schnee here. This is a perfect marketing ploy for Scarlet Uprising. I mean, what other bands that have a member of a wealthy family, let alone a Schnee, to join in?" Everyone shakes their heads.  
"Exactly. Which is why she would be the face of the band. Imagine this, your face and your band's, _mostly yours_ , will be on the cover of every magazine, billboard, and in front of the store. Interviews from reporter and talk show host will come flooding in. You'll be everywhere! So, what do you say, leader?"  
"As I may like that prospect, I much prefer to have a serene life of my own, fighting Grimm with my teammate and out of the limelight once in a while. And also, I'm not the leader of the band, she is." She then pointed to Ruby and Crimson couldn't believe it. "She?" he asked. Then, he turns his attention to Ruby.  
"And what's your name?"  
"I'm Ruby. Ruby Rose," Ruby replies.  
"Aren't you a little too young to be in a rock band, let alone a leader?"  
"Well, I..."  
"Don't answer that, it's just an unnecessary reference I made. So, do we have a deal?" Ruby looks at her team for advice. Yang gives a double thumbs-up and an animated grin while Blake gives a weak affectionate smile. Weiss only shrugs her shoulders, smirks and raises her eyebrows, speaking to her, "Sure, why not?" Then, Ruby looks back at Mr Bronze, now with an assured face.  
"It's a deal." With the handshakes between Ruby and Crimson, the deal is now sealed. Although it was a risky move from Crimson's perspective, signing an unproven band, but he has good faith with them. And thus officially, Scarlet Uprising is born.

One day, they got a record deal on the spot, and the next thing they knew they became the hottest topic in Beacon Academy and the entire Remnant. Not only that but wherever they go, a flash mob will always rush toward them without any warning. So, for the first few weeks of their formal formation, they have to take a longer detour to their studio just to avoid the mob. Speaking of the studio, I forgot to mention that they are still using that abandoned warehouse as part of their deal with the Revolution Record Inc.  
Team RWBY, particularly Weiss, suddenly became the popular girls in the academy due to the sudden publicity they receive. However, everyone believes that Weiss is the leader of the band because she is a Schnee, which kind of frustrates Ruby even though she corrected them so many times. The false assumption doesn't bother them too much though as they work hard to complete their first few songs for the Battle of the Band.  
Then, in one of their usual practices, Jaune came up to Ruby and Weiss who were sitting together at the piano and asked them if they could find a perfect melody for this song he drafts. Weiss and Ruby reviewed Jaune's song thoroughly and got an approval nod from them.  
"Well, let's see what we can do," told Weiss to Jaune. She conceives of the melody in her head for an uncertain amount of time before Ruby presses a random key on the piano, a 4th octave G key. With Ruby's intrusion, Weiss suddenly had a burst of an idea. "Ruby, I need your drum for the tempo." Ruby quickly goes to her drum and plays a little round of successive beats on the ride cymbal for Weiss. She asks her to lower the tempo bit by bit until she is content with the tempo. Yang and Blake, who were doing some private lessons at a corner, take notice of Weiss's show and move toward her Weiss to see what's she coming up with.  
"Are you making a new song here?" asked Yang.  
"Yeah, Jaune compose this little number right here. Weiss asks me to play my drum as a metronome," Ruby replies. With the help of Ruby, Weiss plays the chords that played in her head onto the piano with splendour. Jaune and team JNPR loves the melody she plays. "Nice, I like it," Pyrrha praises.  
"Okay, we need a little complementary melody with it." Weiss thinks for a moment. Then, she glances at Blake, their bassist, which sparked Weiss an idea.  
"Blake, play me a bass chord that Ruby will call out while I play the tune. You've got this?" Weiss instructs her.  
"Okay, what's the chord?"  
"I don't know, I'm not well-versed in the bass chord, so whatever compliment the tune, it's good enough."  
"Got it!" Blake grabs her bass and quickly positions her fingers onto the strings. Yang then picks up her guitar and ready to delivers a complementary tune to Blake. Weiss then plays the tune of the piano, so Blake and Yang have an idea for their respective parts. After some little trial and error, Yang told them, "Okay, we're ready."  
"Three, two, one, GO!" said Ruby slowly while tapping on her drumsticks. Both Yang and Blake compliment Weiss's melody with their respective riffs and bassline. Then, Weiss sings the first verse of the song and it flows so naturally in her mouth. In the end, Team JNPR gives applause for them. "This is perfect!" she said.  
"Well, I made it within two days, so..." Jaune is abashed by Weiss's appreciation.  
"Thank you, Jaune," Weiss gives him an unexpected hug, which is quite a surprise for everyone in team RWBY and JNPR. It isn't a kiss, but a surprise nonetheless. Jaune only hugs her back awkwardly. Even Yang teases them, "Ooo..."  
"So...um...are you going to...?"  
"Oh right," Weiss flusters. Everyone giggles and chuckles thereafter.

~"~"~"~"~

It was the day! The Battle of the Band. 30 bands come together to shred the big stage. It's now or never moment for these agitated contestants. One of them is Scarlet Uprising, Team RWBY. After random selection, they will be performing in the middle of the pack, so they have plenty of time to muster their courage to perform on a big stage.  
"Alright, guy. This is it. This is the day, either make it or lose it," Ruby tries to motivate her team. The band before them had just finished their performance, an amazing one at that. Their enthusiastic level skyrocketed to the limitless sky as one of the members taunted them, "Good luck! You're gonna need it." Ruby looks at her teammate and Team JNPR.  
"Don't listen to them, guys. I know you're feeling nervous today."  
"We are!" screamed Weiss.  
"But we should know that we do this just for the heck of it, okay. We may sign a record deal despite not even performing on the big stage yet, but you asked for it." Everybody looks at Weiss with an exasperated face.  
"What?! Everyone agrees with that decision, not just me, " Weiss reprimands her teammate for the blame.  
"Yeah, everything is not what we're expecting, but Crimson Bronze have confidence on us, see our potential. Let's do the best that we can. We win together, we lose together, we play together, we sing together. Cause we play this not just as friends, but as a band," Ruby rallies her teammate.  
"So, are you girls ready to rock? Who's with me?" Ruby places her right hand down in front of them. Weiss, Blake, and Yang look at each other, and with a confident smile, they, alongside team JNPR, lap over Ruby's hand together and Jaune passionately cries, "Let's go, Scarlet!"  
Everybody raises their hands in unison just in time for the announcer to call up their name. With their heads held high and a little motivational cheer from team JNPR, they go on stage and are welcomed with a million faces and fervent cheer and applause from the vehement crowd. However, to their surprise, many chant their name out loud. "Scarlet! Scarlet! Scarlet! Scarlet!"  
"Everyone cheers our name," said Ruby to her teammate. Then, they take their position. Everybody looks at each other anxiously before Ruby calms them down with a hang. Then, Ruby takes the microphone and sang to the crowd, "Hello, Vytal." The crowd responded with ardent roars. Weiss takes a deep breath before she signals Ruby with a nod to start the performance.  
Ruby starts the performance with a medium pace on her cymbal. Weiss plays the melody of _'Happy Ever After_ ' masterfully in sync with Ruby's rhythmic pattern. Then, she sings the first verse of the song, which is also the chorus;

> _Go ahead, love yourself,  
>  And you will find your happy ever after.  
> _ _Don't worry, it'll be okay,  
>  Cause I know you will believe in yourself.  
> _ _All the way you go,  
>  Through these roads,  
> Faces the obstacle you've came through.  
> Why don't you love yourself?  
> Your dream won't come true  
> If you don't find,  
> your happy ever after.  
> _

After she hits the final note, then Yang and Blake start their duet together as guitarist and bassist respectively while Ruby gives a fiery performance like she never did before. It was tense during their first performance, even Weiss felt her throat dry from all of the high notes she hit during her singing the song and nervousness. Ruby had to hold the pain on her wrist because of the constant, rapid movement she has to perform. Both Yang's and Blake's fingers are starting to ache from the swift and hard strumming of their respective guitar and bass. However, through it all, and even support from the crowd, they had finally finished their performance without any mistakes made.  
Everybody is out of breath and sweating profusely but they are pleased with the performance. The crowd loves it with overwhelming support. Weiss even fist-bump in the air and gathers a lot of cheer and applause. "Thank you, Vytal!" shouted Ruby.  
Once they are off-stage, Nora hugs Ruby to congratulates them for the performance. Ruby chuckles while thanking Nora and the rest of them. "That was amazing!" Pyrrha compliments them.  
"Although we had to endure a lot of pain at the end, we're through," Ruby addresses.  
"But, still. You made a solid first performance out there," Jaune cheers them on.  
"Thanks, Jaune," said Weiss. Then, the member who teased them before alongside his band member approaches them and give congrats to them with a smirk. "I must say, I am impressed! Both you and your bandmate have made an outstanding performance out there even though you are underage. How old are you again?" He then pointed to Ruby.  
"Fifteen," Ruby replies.  
"Fifteen?! Fifteen and she can tear that drum like a mad ladies. Well, you and your bandmate have earned our respect from me and my band," he acknowledges them. They're undoubtedly shocked by their acknowledgement from him. Especially, when during the submission, they got the eyes from other bands, they included. Not long after they left, Ozpin arrives to congratulate team RWBY on their performance with earnest applause. "Also we have a guest for you."  
"Who?" asked Weiss. Instead of answering, again, Ozpin moves away to reveal the secret guest. Weiss's eyes sparkle with joy when she sees the guest. It is her idol, Forrest J.O. She wheezes in excitement when she met Forrest. "Hello there. You must be Scarlet Uprising."  
"Yes, we are," Ruby replies. But then, Weiss barges in just to mumbles word of affection to her idol. Everyone gazes at Weiss, puzzled at her uncharacteristic behaviour. "I can't express how I adore your song. It inspires me..." Ruby coughs lightly.  
"...and my friend to be a....pianist of the band per se."  
"Thanks," Forrest answers awkwardly. Weiss then hugs her idol dearly, which, again, goes out of her character. "Thank you," she said.  
"Well, I wish I would stay here any longer, but schedule conflict prohibits me. It's nice to see you, Scarlets." Forrest bid farewell to Ozpin, Team RWBY and team JNPR. "Good luck with your next performance. Probably I'll listen to your debut album if it is ever released."  
"So that gonna cross off one of your business in your bucket list," asked Ruby.  
"Yep," Weiss replies confidently.  
"So, what now?" asked Blake. Ruby and Weiss look at each other with a smug face before Ruby said, "Well, what are we waiting for?"

~"~"~"~"~

Two days after their performance, Ruby wakes up one morning. She yawns and stretches her arm high, and then she checks on her Scroll charging on the table. She looks the result page to see who's advancing to the next round and Ruby gapes and her eyes widened as she didn't believe what is she staring.  
Scarlet Uprising not only moves on to the next round in the upper place, the first place to be exact, followed by The Avenged Rascal, where one of their member's kids them but even voted Best Performance of the Round with theirs surpassing the others by a mile. She couldn't believe it. So, she tries to wake Weiss up to inform her of the news.  
"Weiss, Weiss! You won't believe what just happened! Weiss, wake up!" Ruby hollers. At first, she ignored her call but she became more irritated as Ruby keeps on shouting at her ear to wake up until she snaps, "Ruby, can you stop that?!", thus finally waking Weiss from her slumber. Her holler also awakes both Yang and Blake from their quiet sleep and Yang shouted furiously while sounding half-awake, "Ruby, it's early in the morning! What's all the fuss about?"  
"Yang, you'll not believe this! Our team made it to the next round!"  
"Wait, what?" Yang responded in disbelief.  
"Weiss, take a look at this!" Weiss then grabs Ruby's Scroll, still felt half-asleep, and look at the result. Weiss, like Ruby, is baffled when she glances at the result, evident with. She stammers her word to describe what is she feeling. In the meantime, both Yang and Blake goes off their bed to see if this were true. Well, you know what's their reaction.  
"Did we won?" asked Blake in a surprised tone. Ruby squeaks in joy with her arm close together and hop joyfully. "Yes," she replies. Yang and Blake celebrate together with cheer, the thrust of fistbumps in the air and group hug.  
"Hey, don't forget about us as well," said Jaune.  
"Join in if you want," offered Ruby. Then, all of Team JNPR members join in the group hug together, celebrating Scarlet Uprising's success.

The performance boosts Scarlet Uprising up into the starlight. Now, every magazine in town and the entire Remnant wants a slice of their pie and their fanbase grew larger and larger, far more than they have anticipated. A lot of them were enamoured of Scarlet's unique style of playing, opting for piano-based rather than the standard guitar-based. That and a wealthy kid, a Schnee to be exact, is playing with a rag-tag band of Huntresses, and be the lead vocalist of the band itself. However, something change within the team itself, particularly Weiss. Now, she will always be the one to be interview first, considering her status and often mistaken as the leader despite repeatedly told them that she isn't. Furthermore, all of the gang feels worn out whenever they entered class due to the extensive amount of interview they have to go through, which cause concerned among the teacher, including Ozpin.  
Even when they feel tired, they continue with their band practice and compose new songs with the help of Jaune and two songwriters hired by Mr Bronze, although most of their song was written by Jaune himself. Finally, just three weeks before the next round, Team RWBY, under the Scarlet Uprising banner, released their self-titled debut album, which consists of 12 songs and a live version of ' _Happy Ever_ _After_ ' recorded in the Battle of the Band, which are as follow;

> **_ Scarlet Uprising _ **
> 
>   1. Intro: Scarlet Uprising
>   2. Happy Ever After
>   3. Teen Revolution
>   4. Royal Brat
>   5. Panoramic Life
>   6. Untold of the Young
>   7. My Heart Does Not Belong
>   8. Juniper
>   9. Spring, Summer, Black Winter.
>   10. Rise Up!
>   11. Colours United
>   12. Outro: The Scarlet Revolution
>   13. Happy Ever After (Live Version)
> 


Of course, they need some outsider's help to make this album. For example, songs such as "Teen Revolution", "Panoramic Life" and "Royal Brat" requires a rhythm guitarist to accompany Yang's lead guitar line. So, they enlist the help of Nora for "Teenage Revolution" and "Royal Brat" and Ren for 'Paranoia" and even both for "Colours United", the only non-piano based song in the album and the only one where one of the members, in this case, Yang, does not involve in the song, music-wise. Pyrrha does co-write alongside Jaune, Ruby and Weiss for the song "Juniper" and "Spring, Summer, Black Winter". In conclusion, both Team RWBY and Team JNPR works hard for the album, which mind you, they are still students from the prestigious Huntsman academy.  
"What is this seventh song in the album? I've never heard of it," asked Jaune, suspicious on this particular song he notices.  
"Uh...it's a song made by myself. I decide to put it in as a little surprise," Weiss seems to shudder, and she darts back to the dorm after her vague explanation. Jaune assumes that she's just doing it for funsies, so he shrugs it off.

It is a huge success, selling like hot cake within the first week of its release. Scarlet Uprising has become a runaway global sensation in Remnant. Their fanbase grew larger and larger as fan sites start to pop up. Even Team RWBY and Team JNPR had a chance to visit some of the popular ones. However, turmoil starts to stir among the team, particularly between Ruby and Weiss. She is not the same Weiss as before because she had worked hard for the album and never stop pushing herself even after its release. This causes Ruby to be worried about her. But whenever she tries to talk to her, she's been pushing her away.  
A tranquil night before the next round, Ruby looks at Weiss from the door with worry as Weiss gazes blankly at her book, ponder about their next album. Both Blake and Yang are asleep soundly, which left both Ruby and Weiss awake in the dead of night. Ruby approaches her and places her hand on Weiss's shoulder. "Weiss, we need to talk," said Ruby.  
"Please, Ruby! Stop disturbing me!" she screams at Ruby, almost waking both Blake and Yang up. She also throws Ruby's hand away from  
"Weiss, we need to TALK NOW!" Ruby requests firmly. Weiss sighs before turning around and gives in.  
"Sure, what do you want to talk?"  
"It's about you. Me. Us. I'm worried about you. Everything's that happened to us right now is clearly out of control."  
"Well, what seems to be the problem?"  
"Weiss, you need to rest. It's not healthy if you push yourself far too much."  
"No, Ruby. I need to come up with our next album. We need to do bigger and better. Ruby, I need to think."  
"Weiss..."  
"Ruby, I need some time to think..."  
"WEISS!" Ruby finally snaps, now being serious in this situation. There is only a moment of stillness between them. Ruby crosses her arm and her brows knitted into an angry face. Weiss only glared at Ruby, intensifying the tension.  
"You need to rest, Weiss."  
"You don't have the authority o tell me that."  
"I am your leader," Ruby seethed her frustration. Again, another moment of stillness. After a few minutes of Wild West style standoff, Weiss then goes to her bed and sleeps without utter a "Goodnight" word to Ruby. "I'm worried about you, Weiss," Ruby told the sleeping Weiss. No response. She then climbs up to her bed and slid herself under the blanket before she falls asleep for their next performance tomorrow.

~"~"~"~"~

Many bands failed to advance to next round as the competition goes on but Scarlet Uprising consistently makes it on top, even won Best Performance of the Round twice. However, this is also taking a toll on Team RWBY themselves as both Yang and Blake begin to feel demotivated and their enthusiasm begins to wane from the constant pain and exhaustion from those performances. The tension between Ruby and Weiss are increasingly worrisome. And so does Team JNPR, Jaune in particular, as he begin to think that their team are shoved out by Team RWBY themselves, considering that most of their songs never involves themselves, especially Nora and Ren as rhythm guitarists for the band. However, Ruby remains optimistic and encourage everyone to stay tenacious until the end.  
They had just finished their semi-final performance and as expected, the crowd are loving it. However, the air behind the stage is far more depressing than the previous round Nobody celebrates with such enthusiasm, merely just a regular high five from each team. Then, Ozpin comes forth to give them a congratulatory word to them, but their reaction is empty at best.  
"So, does anyone feel excited right now?" asked Ozpin. Nora only gives a sarcastic, apathetic "Yeah!" as her response.  
"I see you're getting tired from all of this."  
"Of course we are. My finger is hurting right now because of the constant practice we have," Yang admits.  
"Well, I spoke with your producer. And he agrees to suspend the production of your second album to give you some rest." Everyone breathe a sigh of relief. "Finally, a break!" Nora rejoices.  
"That's not all though." He then gives them a piece of paper. It is a special reservation for a well-known restaurant not far from here. Everyone was elated with a small break and thank Ozpin for the generosity.  
Everyone leaves the stage except Ruby and Weiss because Ozpin has something for them. Ruby and Weiss wonder why he calls them, so they stay put. He tells them, "I see both of you have a little problem here."  
"What problem?" asked Weiss.  
"I was at your dorm to see what you're doing. It just so happened that you two are both bickering with each other, so I eavesdropped your conversation. Tell me, does anything happened to the band kept bothering you?" Ruby and Weiss looks at each other and shyly confess, "Yes."  
"I created the band purely for us to hang out together more. The competition was merely an afterthought. We don't expect this to be blown out and it took a toll on us," Ruby added.  
"And..."  
"I..."She looks at Weiss before confessing, "I quarrelled with Weiss because I was worried about her. She kept insisting that the second album needs to be better than before."  
"How about you, Mrs Schnee? Is this true?" Her eyes glance down in fright and she nibbles her bottom lip as if his word has terrified her.  
"I...I..." she falters. Weiss unusually start to sweat profusely as her hand trembles uncontrollably and she keeps stumbling her word. Then, tear shimmers in her eyes before it rolls down to her cheek. She clings on Ruby, although Ruby mentions, "Umm...Weiss, I'm not a hugging bear. Can we talk about this later?"  
"Mrs Schnee, you don't have to force yourself to talk. Give yourself some room to breathe."  
"I think we need talk later Weiss is not in the right state now," Ruby suggests.  
"You're right. I'm sorry if I may triggering some unpleasant memory from you. I'll give you some time to relax. If you need me, you know where I am."  
"Thank you, Professor." Both Ruby and Weiss leave the stage while Weiss is sobbing and clinging onto Ruby.  
"Please, father. I want to become a professional pianist. Please, I beg you," mumbles Weiss softly but Ruby caught on to what she's saying.  
"What did your father do to you?" Ruby inquired. Weiss remains hushed from the question. Out of respect, Ruby shuts her mouth while keep on comforting Weiss until the tear stops.  
At this time, they meet the rest of the gang outside of the stadium, who was wondering what took them so long. Then, Jaune notices Weiss is crying right now and asked Ruby about it. Ruby gives a small head shook, saying to Jaune that it's not the appropriate time.  
"I'm sorry, Ruby. I'm sorry," Weiss apologizing to her, oblivious to the rest of the gang who is waiting for them. "It's okay, Weiss. Let it all out." Weiss wipes the remaining tear in her eye. Yang hugs her and rubs her head like she always did to Ruby while saying, "Come here you a little, white ball." Eventually, it became a group hug from everyone just to comfort Weiss. Weiss's mouth curved into a smile.  
"Thanks," Weiss replies. She feels a little better now, although there's still a sign of concern in her face.  
"So, are we just gonna stand here and waste this opportunity?" Blake told them.  
"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" yelled Nora. Everybody left to the restaurant with excitement and even a little 'Woohoo!' from Yang sneaks in from the excitement.

They have a feast together at the table reserved by Ozpin himself and even make a buzz in the restaurant when eager fans approach them with their Scroll up high. Suffice to say, their arrival cause a ruckus in the five-star restaurant with their scrumptious food. After they ate their order, Jaune addresses the elephant in the room, "So, what did Professor Ozpin told you?"  
"He asked us what we have bickered about last night," Ruby answers.  
"Then, why did..." Ruby gives a dead glare to Jaune. But, Weiss insists on answering his question. Ruby asks her if she would be fine telling them and Weiss responds with a faint, but definitely assured smile.  
"Do you promise me that you will never tell anyone about this?" Weiss begs them. Everyone gives either a nod of agreement or crossing their heart as a sign of promise.  
"But first, we need to find a perfect place to talk about," Pyrrha suggested.  
"Yeah, with all of those paparazzi came snooping in for a story, I'll take my chances to leave this place and find somewhere secret," Nora adds to Pyrrha's points. Everyone agrees with the notion. Then, they leave the restaurant, while the restaurant reassures them that their meal will be paid by the company and Ozpin, which is unusual per se, but also a sign of good faith.  
They return to the warehouse mostly through the limousine rented by the company, again, unusual, but had to walk a few feet to avoid exposure from the paparazzi. After arriving, they immediately go into the juice point, Weiss's confession that she promise everyone to never reveal her secret.  
Finally, with a deep breath and a sigh, she confesses to all of her friends, "Remember that time where I tell everybody that my father always let me play the piano wherever I want?"  
"Yes, you did," Ren recalls.  
"I want to become a professional pianist, but my father wouldn't let me. I was only allowed to play either as a free time or for the usual Atlas stage performance."  
"Is that why you're against the formation of the band initially?" asked Ruby. Weiss nods. She pauses for a moment. Ruby wraps her arm around her and spoke to Weiss if she wants to keep going.  
"I afraid the clout we're getting will get his attention. You don't want to be the other end of the stick, would you?"  
"Can't imagine otherwise," said Blake rather nonchalantly.  
"Although, now that I think of it, he should know about it by now. Do you heard of any news from your father?" asked Jaune.  
"No. But since we're talking about my father, I doubt he didn't know about Scarlet Uprising." Weiss's hand is seen by her friend shivered in trepidation when there's a pause. Ruby solaced her, "Weiss, I think we heard enough." Weiss gives a small jerk of her head before she called quit for today.  
"Yeah. I guess it's better to not dwell in the past."  
"So, what now?" said Blake. There's only a moment of silence in the studio. For the first time, they have no idea what to do, either to stick around or go back to the campus. After ambling around in the warehouse for a minute or so, they decide to go back to Beacon to focus on their study.

~"~"~"~"~

Scarlet Uprising made it barely to the final due to the underperformance of their semi-final gig, edging out the band behind them only by a tooth. It seems their 'revolution' died down, and people now consider them as one-hit-wonder. This caused concern for the team, who had taken a rest from their intensive practice. However, this doesn't stop Weiss from writing new songs, sometimes with Jaune and without Ruby's help although he is adamant with it.  
Days and nights she tried and failed to write even a decent song. She throws paper ball after paper ball into the direction of the dustbin, often miss the opening by a mile or by a slimmer margin. She would sometimes throw tantrum because her creative juice isn't flowing right now and it infuriates her. Ruby recalls one time that she slammed her desk out of frustration after a mental block for five days straight.  
The morale is quite low for both Team RWBY and Team JNPR due to the underperformance, so the band practice is only a few and far between. Even if there's a practice, they would play their instrument not in their fullest potential due to low spirit and motivation.  
One day, everyone was doing their own thing. Team JNPR is playing card games to pass the boredom. Yang and Blake are chatting near the rack without their respective instrument, which leaves Ruby and Weiss to sit there awkwardly. "C'mon guys. We don't have time to laze around. We should be prepared for the final," Ruby tries to boost morale in them but fail.  
"So what? You'll get all the fame you want. We gonna remain uncredited for, just like before," glowered Jaune in an annoyed tone.  
"Jaune..." Ruby whines.  
"Wow, the morale here is really an all-time low," mocked Weiss rudely.  
"Weiss..."  
"Of course it was low, we're doing nothing but only for moral support and occasional help in your song. Then, your band will get all the glory while we left here in the dust. You never credited us in any of your performance," Jaune fumed from all of favouritism Team RWBY had.  
"How can we give credit you if we're too busy performing? It's bound to happen that we forgot to credit you once in a while," Weiss defends.  
"Oh really, how many performances have you done so far? With this being your debut performance, I found it appalling that you never even talk to your fan about us from all of those performances. Not once! And you even utilise the help of a guitarist ONCE for the song but not Nora or Ren! Look at my eyes, Weiss! Look at it!" He shows his fatigued eyes to Weiss as evidence of his itinerant work.  
"I even had to endure strain on my wrist from all those intensive writing!" he snapped.  
"So, you think it was my fault? Firstly, we got no control over the guitarist stuff because that was handled by RR Inc. Second, I co-wrote some of the songs with you and Ruby."  
"Barely! You barely contribute anything! Only me and Ruby! You only know how to play that piano that is subpar with your idol."  
"What did you say?"  
"Umm...guys. Please don't fight here," Ruby tries to defuse the tension.  
"Subpar! Yeah, I'm insulting your piano skill because you treated us like garbage!"  
"How dare you?! I played that piano like a mad lass I was. I even had to sneak out of my father's sight so I would play the piano here." Everyone is startled by Weiss's sudden confession. "What do you mean by that?" For a moment, no one speaks nor question what had they just heard. Weiss had her gaze shaken and inundated with tears. Ruby tries to break the silence but the tense force of the silence has outweighed her thought. Weiss pauses her argument for a moment.  
"To tell you the truth, I lied about having the privilege. I don't actually get a lot of free time playing the piano unless necessary. I actually have to sneak into his ship so I could practice my piano skill here undetected."  
"And your father never know about it until now?" asked Jaune. Weiss shook her head. Then, she sat down the seat while she laments over her decision.  
"That's why I like that particular song you made when we're brainstorming ideas. I did modify the lyrics a bit to fit with our style and my personal reason."  
"What are you talking about? Is it about that song that you made the melody of?"  
"Yes. That would eventually become 'My Heart Does Not Belong', the one you told me that song just appears out of nowhere." Jaune's upset expression said it all. He can't believe it.  
"What?! Is that why the song just appear out of nowhere? You know I've worked hard on that!"  
"I'm sorry I didn't tell all of this to you. But there's the reason why I do that."  
"And what is it?"  
With a deep and sincere breath, Weiss confesses, "It felt as if my whole life is written in those words by someone's hand. The song feels alive and relatable, for me at the very least, so I change it up so that it feels more personal. And I 'borrow' the recording of the song and asked another band's help to re-record it for me."  
"You mean to tell us that you 'borrow' your band's recording of my song and asks another band to help you re-record the song with those new lyrics without our knowledge. And then, you sneak up that track in your band's debut album and never disclose about how this song just magically appears to us in the first place."  
"I know it's wrong, Jaune, okay? I'm sorry. I don't know what's going on in my head at that time. I... "  
"How could you do that? I can't believe you did that!" seethed Jaune with boiling wrath. He is in disbelief as to how far Weiss would willing to go. The atmosphere begins to get tense as Jaune starts to seep in the fact. With the hostile scowl at Weiss and a heavy and fuming huff, he tells her in a low tone, "I'm beginning to wonder if you truly my friend at all."  
With his final word, he leaves the room alongside his teammate. That leaves Team RWBY in the room. Then, Yang drops her guitar down on the ground in a conniption. It doesn't break the guitar at all but it can't be denied that Yang is enraged right now.  
"You're really just like your father. Heartless and selfish," gawped Yang. She leaves the room with Blake joining her as well after she put her bass and Yang's guitar on the rack. Blake looks at Weiss and shakes her head in disappointment before she leaves the room without any word spoken, which leaves Ruby and Weiss in the studio.  
"Ruby, please," she pleads. Ruby got up from her seat and then tells her, "Weiss, are we kept forgetting our true intention here? About why we're forming Scarlet Uprising? We're doing this for fun, not to pursue our musical career, although that idea got thrown out of the window. Even if it is the latter, what you did is obviously unacceptable."  
"Yes, I know, but I got too carried away with the work. Eventually, I forgot why we're actually doing this because I got so preoccupied with the unexpected fame the Scarlet Uprising have and the album we're creating."  
"Weiss, I may be younger than you by two years, but I am the leader of the team and the band. I take care of my teammate with care and respect, regardless of age, gender, races, or anything because it's my responsibility as a leader. But this time, you're taking this too far. If you keep on doing this, I'm sorry, Weiss but I won't be helping you this time around."  
"What?! You're not serious, are you, Ruby?! I made all of the songs alongside Jaune and you. And I've open the truth to all of you. Do you want a song to be the downfall of this band?"  
"Yes, it can, because why? This is OUR work, OUR blood, sweat and tear! You undermining all of our efforts! Jaune's, mine, and even Team JNPR! And you didn't tell us about back then and at the worst time! And even If you tell us about this back then, it would still happen, Jaune would leave us nonetheless because of your action!"  
"Ruby!" Weiss urges her to stay repeatedly but it becomes futile. Ruby has held the doorknob on her hand, feeling seething anger with Weiss. Before she leaves, she looks at Weiss with resentful glare and a small shake of disappointment. "If you want to do it yourself, then leave! Leave this band! If that's satisfied you," Ruby tells Weiss before she leaves the studio.  
Weiss contemplates on her action with a deep regretful sigh. She then closes the lid of her piano and leans her head on her hand. She can't control her brewing anger inside of her as her angerful cry trickles down her cheek and then onto the lid itself. "Why did I do that? I can't believe in myself that I would jeopardize everything for a song! Why?! Why?!" she murmurs to herself.  
She clenched her fist and walks toward the pillar that holds Yang's guitar and Blake's bass. She screams in anger while throws a strong punch to the pillar continuously until there are bruises from her knuckles.  
After that, she slides down on her back against the pillar and weeps quietly. " _If you want to do it yourself, then leave! Leave this band! If that's satisfied_ you." Ruby's word whirled in her head as she mumbles indecipherable word. ' _I'm sorry. I'm sorry,_ ' she extensively apologizes while covered her face with her bleeding hand.

~"~"~"~"~

After the incident, they rarely make eye to eye with each other, both within Team RWBY/Scarlet Uprising and with Team JNPR. Soon, everyone took notice and rumour about their impending disbandment spread across Remnant like wildfire. Soon, opportunistic people, like reporters, would take the chance to elevate the rumour for the sake of seeking attention. Once Crimson caught wind with the spreading rumour, he initiates the damage control over the situation as it could damage his company's reputation since Scarlet Uprising is one of him after all. He demands Team RWBY sort out the issue but no word comes out for them. This stokes the false rumours even more as Team RWBY and JNPR kept themselves out of the spotlight.

"Does Scarlet Uprising really going to disband before the Grand Final?" asked one of the female students to her friend.  
"Ah... that would be unfortunate. I like their works because there's rarely any all-female bands quite like them. If you ask me what's my favourite, mine would be 'Happy Ever After'. It's such an upbeat but meaningful song. A song about finding self-love even through hard times, which eventually leads to a 'happy ever after'."  
"Really? Mine is 'My Heart Does Not Belong'. It is a stark contrast to the rest of the album, instead goes for a slow, melancholy song. The moving emotion I feel from Weiss's distinctive voice in the song resonant to me deep within my heart. I feel her problem in those intricate lyric and her voice is hauntingly beautiful. Overall, it's a pleasant change from them."  
"I wish they stuck together just for the final. Quite unfortunate if this rumour is true."  
"I wish the same thing. They have a good footing there. What happened to them now?"  
"Internal fighting definitely. What were they fighting about, we don't know." Unbeknownst to them, Weiss eavesdropped their conversation behind a corner. Luckily, they didn't notice Weiss hiding in the corner when they passed her. As she walks down the hallway, everyone avoids having eye contact with Weiss as if she is a Grimm wandered inside the campus, even though she would be dead on the spot by now if she really was.  
There, she stumbles upon Team JNPR by chance in the hallway. However, when she sees them, they quickly look away to the other direction while walking past her without batting an eye, especially Jaune. Everyone else reluctantly follows suit. Weiss can even hear Pyrrha whispers to her, "Sorry."  
Back at her dorm, none of her teammates ever talk or even look at Weiss at all. They don't even move an inch from their bed. Weiss then eyes blankly on Yang's acoustic guitar that is rested beneath the desk, dust away for a week by the owner's negligence. She tries to pick up the guitar but Yang quickly growls, "Hey, don't touch my guitar!"  
"So what? You barely used it nowadays."  
"Hey, it's mine. So, don't touch it!"  
"It's over a week now and..."  
"What's really the point? The morale that day was low already, but your confession was the last straw," Yang interrupts. Weiss can't deny it, she does ruin everything due to her selfishness.  
"Besides, we talk to the organizers. We forfeit the competition," Blake added. "What!?" both Ruby and Weiss are shocked by that. "Wait, you didn't know this too?" asked Weiss to Ruby in confusion.  
"Didn't I told you we hold that until we hear Weiss's opinion," Ruby chastises them.  
"Why bother? It isn't like we need her opinion anyway," Yang explains.  
"Excuse me!" barked Weiss.  
"Oh, are you mad, ice queen? Did I break your cold stern? Maybe, I wouldn't insult you if you weren't being selfish right there and then."  
"I only said that because I was angry with Jaune at that time."  
"Technically, that happened during you throw a tantrum," Blake points out.  
"Whatever it is, I apologize, okay."  
"It barely even an apology at all. If someone is more deserving for your 'apology', it would be Jaune."  
"As I said, I have no idea why I did that, to begin with. It's like I'm not myself."  
"Yeah right, as if that wasn't enough, you would give a help of someone else just to do your bidding, just like your father."  
"Prove it to me, Yang! Prove it!"  
"Enough!" Ruby snapped. Everyone went hushed after Ruby's outburst. "I had it when everyone is trying to choke each other's throat. Do you want to keep on rambling about?" No response. Then, Ruby climbs down from her bed and asks both Weiss and Yang, "Are you guys done yet?" Weiss and Yang nod their head.  
"I take that silence as "We're done here". Look, if you still insist on arguing, then go ahead, be my guest. But, let me do the talking."  
"Okay, what do you want to talk about?"  
"I talked to Weiss after you guys left the studio. I warned her that if she wants to keep on doing it, then she can leave the band and going solo. And yet she came to me and... well, I let Weiss do the talking."  
"I'll stay," Weiss stated.  
"What?!" Yang is shocked by Weiss's word, but Ruby tells her sister to let her speak. However, instead of continuing, she grabs Yang's guitar and plucks strings after strings while tuning it until she is satisfied with the sound, a standard EADGBE tuning. Yang tries to talk but blocked by Ruby as Weiss sings a song from Forbidden Nightfall, ' _False Persona_ ', which everyone sings along with her;

> _I wish I could tell you what's lies in my heart.  
> _ _Cause I keep on lying to myself all the time,  
>  So I masked myself, I hide my real self,  
> Under my fabricated persona.  
> _
> 
> _I wish I could tell you what've been going on,  
>  Cause I don't know if I could believe in myself,  
> I had threw the real me under the frozen lake,  
> And I dawn myself with the smiling mask.  
> _
> 
> _But you took it off,  
>  And you said it to me,  
> That I am still beautiful,  
> Without my false persona._

Yang feels calm again after the short play. "Feeling okay now, Yang?" asked Ruby. Yang nods but tells her, "Although I still won't forgive Weiss for what she did."  
"It doesn't matter anymore. Let that one be in the past," said Weiss.  
"Okay, so what's now?" asked Blake.  
"Putting out one last performance for the fan," Jaune chimes in. He had listened to the performance from outside. "But, I sided with Yang about not forgive you for stealing my song." Weiss only chuckles awkwardly.  
"Well, what are we waiting for?" asked Ruby. Everyone looks at each other with an excited grin. "Let's win this final together." Ruby places her down, followed Weiss, then Yang, then Blake, then...Ren. They look at him with confusion. "Count me in," he spoke.  
"Don't forget us as well," Pyrrha grinned. Both Pyhrra and Nora joins in and with an emphatic cheer 'Let's go, Scarlet!", they raised hand with beaming joy and motivation. One last 'revolution' for Scarlet Uprising.  
"I still can't believe we're using that," Weiss complains.

Unbeknownst to them, however, Ozpin and Glynda are eavesdropping the entire conversation, and with good intention. "Heh, I told you they will reconcile again. Why don't you believe me?"  
"Ozpin, you know I am a sceptical person."  
"Well, that's the least of our worry. I wonder what will they performed?"  
"Probably one of their songs?"  
"Most likely."

~"~"~"~"~

The band before them were given a lukewarm reaction after finished their performance, evident by the lukewarm clapping and a few cheers. "Well, that was an electrifying performance there from The Avenged Rascals. Now, we had the final band to perform tonight, and you can guess who there are." In the meantime, while the announcer is talking onstage, Ruby looks at her teammate, who are well-prepared and the morale is as high as the sky.   
"Okay, this is it. It's now or nothing. Are you guys feeling nervous right now?" asked Ruby. Everyone nods their head. "And so do I. But remember what we're here for." Yang gives a fiery fist bump with a passionate smirk. Blake is still as nonchalant as the moss on the rock. Weiss has a little shiver of anxiety on her hand but she nods confidently she will do it. She looks at Team JNPR, whom all of them gives a thumbs up.  
"Please welcome, Scarlet Uprising!" Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang all go up to the stage and are greeted with enthusiastic applause from their passionate fan among the crowd. After they take their position, Weiss yells to the crowd with the microphone, "Hello, citizens of Vytal!" A thunderous roar of excitement ensues.  
"Before we begin, let me address the rumour circulating the band. No, we won't be disbanding the band but we're about to because of my mistake," Weiss explains. Everyone went silent while Weiss continues her explanation.  
"I made a big mistake by stealing one of my closest friend's work behind his back. I was too absorbent with the success of the band and our next album until I forgot the actual purpose of the band. We mainly do this for us to hang out more, have fun and maybe show our musical prowess. Overall, we're a bunch of rag-tag Huntresses who formed an indie/alt-rock band. The competition is mere, in Ruby's word, an afterthought." Everyone gasps in shock and surprise when they hear her explanation.  
"It's more for a little motivational giver per se, but she got a point," Ruby reiterates.  
"That 'confession' almost destroy both of the band and the relationship between us and our friend's team in Beacon. The band's morale is bad enough due to the unexpected success of Scarlet Uprising. We put too much pressure in ourself to perform great that we burned out during practice a lot of time." There are murmurs among the crowd. Weiss looks at Jaune, who is standing behind the curtain, crossed-arm, smiling behind the shadow of the curtain. Then, unexpectedly for everyone including both of her teammate and Jaune himself, Weiss asks him to come up to the stage.  
At first, he was hesitant to come up to the stage, however, after a little support from his team, especially Pyrrha, he walks on stage, still trembling with fear but he walks with pride. "Come on, Jaune. You can do it," Weiss encourages him. With a deep breath, he welcomes his presence to the world with a little 'Hello', which then are greeted back with animated applause and cheers from the crowd.  
"I'm Jaune Arc, and I'm responsible for composing most of the songs in their album alongside Weiss and Ruby. And to be honest, it kind of daunting to write their debut album because of the band's unexpected success. And yes, I still can't forgive her for what she did, but she has learned her lesson. So, for the first performance of the finals, they will be performed the single 'My Heart Does Not Belong". After his speech, the venue was filled with sincere applause and whistle as Jaune waves goodbye to the crowd and leaves the stage. Off-stage, Pyrrha, Nora and Ren hug Jaune for his bravery.  
"Good job, Jaune," Pyrrha compliments.  
"Thanks," Jaune replies. And thus Scarlet Uprising begins their performance with the help of Ruby's cymbal hit, Weiss starts the chords with her piano, follows by Yang's short but poignant guitar riff. After that, Weiss sings the chorus and first part of the song.

> _My heart does not belong in this place I called a home,  
>  My sanctuary, my heavenly place to be,_
> 
> _Sometimes I wander alone in_ _this empty paradise,  
>  Cause I afraid to be- called_ _,  
>  The one who sell her soul to be a mannequin.  
> _
> 
> _I want to be, the perfect one.  
>  The one who fit the mould.  
>  _Cause I wanna be the role for the perfected,  
>  I wanna be the pride of my beloved.  
> __
> 
> _And yet I still, feel lost inside  
>  This storm's still surging on.   
> There's come the time when I had to hide myself.  
> Cause I afraid to be an outsider of my own world._

Things went as expected for them in the performance until the end part, where something unexpected happened. The crowd, thousands of them singing alongside them. All of the members watched in awe as the crowd harmonising with Weiss for the last verse of the song while still keep on with their performance. In the end, the crowd loves it, until they wanted more for their second performance (oh, did I forgot to mention that they have two performance for the finals?).  
Weiss screams to the crowd, "Do you want some more?" The crowd gleefully shouted "Yes!" with cheer and whistle. Sure enough, Team RWBY delivers their wish, with an unexpected song from their album - "Colours United". Weiss first summons Nora and Ren to come on the stage while the crew sets up a microphone on stage. Unlike Jaune, Nora and Ren do not hesitate to go up the stage, now beams with confidence. Nora demanded, "Hey, we need two guitars here!" They give them two spare guitars they have at their disposal.  
This time, though, Yang would play alongside Ren and Nora, for additional help per se. Nora starts on with a simple chord, complimented with Blake's bassline, which then followed by Yang's and Ren's duo performance. Ruby gives an astounding drumbeat that she's ever done. After that, Weiss begins to sing the first part of the song alongside the crowd who join in;

> _What's going on here?  
>  Why did the world start burning down?  
> Is it the hatred that we share among ourselves?_
> 
> _What have we become?  
>  We've spoiled our ground with our own blood.  
> Are we truly living for the younger generation?_
> 
> _Because we should know that love prevail,  
>  Cause they never said who's superior,  
> A light will shine in our heart,  
> Guide us out from darkness.   
> _
> 
> _Can you proudly stand for the hopeless?  
>  Can you be a shining beacon?  
> Become the lighthouse that lead us cause,   
> We're not afraid...ohh...  
> _
> 
> _Can you find the love in the ocean?  
>  Or find it etching on the horizon?  
> Cause our colours in our heart  
> Still sings the same symphony  
> _
> 
> _What a world we live right now!  
>  What are the chances that we have?  
> If we let it go, we never have another one._

This grouped up engagement reaches its climax when both Weiss and the crowd sings harmoniously in the chorus with their hands raised in cadence to the beat, as follow;

> _We are, Colours United!  
>  We stand for each other,  
> We hold hand together,  
> And build a better world._
> 
> _Colours United!  
>  We love with no judgement  
> Like brothers and sisters  
> No matter who you are._
> 
> _Our differences, our melody.  
>  We may not live in the same world.  
> But you and me, we are the same, cause together we are,  
> Colours United_

They kept the energy going until the end. After all, this is their final show, so they give their best that they can. After they finished their performance, the crowd gives the most roaring standing ovation they and other competitors has ever seen in this competition. Suffice to say, it's a spectacular achievement for them. While they were catching their breath, smile carved on their face because, in this time, it doesn't matter anymore if they win the competition or not. It was their greatest performance yet, and that pleased them.

"Thank you to all of you!" yelled Ruby and Weiss in unison. Yang gives the crowd their signature fist up in the air with her right fist, in which the crowd also raises their fist with her, which filled up the entire stadium with hand in the air. When they got off stage, both team RWBY and team JNPR hugs each other with mumbled, indecipherable congratulatory compliment mixed in.  
"That was amazing!" exclaimed Nora.  
"We're doing exceptional back there," compliments Ren.  
"And the crowd- they sing alongside you, and it was amazing," Pyrrha was thrilled.  
"I didn't know you can get that excited," teased Blake, out of all people. Then, an unknown clap came behind them- it was Ozpin, with Crimson and Glynda next to him. All of them have a tender smile on them, a sign of a job's well done.  
"You give a phenomenal performance out there, Scarlets," Ozpin congratulates them. "And the crowd enjoyed your performance, thus I conclude that you're more likely to finished in the top 3, guaranteed."  
"Thank you, Professor," said Ruby.  
"Let's not get too ahead here. We still have to wait for the announcement," Glynda mentioned.  
"She's right. We still have a few minutes to go, so take a break, guys. When it's almost time, meet me back here. You all deserve it," Ruby told them.  
So, they go out from the stage to catch a little breather while waiting for the announcement. Well, all except Ruby and Weiss, of course. "You wouldn't go?" asked Ozpin politely. Ruby and Weiss decline. Then, the same man, one of the members who tease them and then praise them for their performance, approaches them along with his bandmate.  
"I like you, Scarlet Uprising. Manage to stay together even through the hardest time, and made what definitely was the greatest performance ever graced this world."  
"Thanks," Weiss replies.  
"Although we have a better chance of winning this competition," the man joked in a rather taunting manner.  
"Excuse me, how dare you to talk like that to my students?!" Glynda defends them.  
"Woah, easy there, miss. It was a joke. Don't take it seriously!" Glynda calms herself down before it escalates.  
"Well, see you guys later!" Both the man and his band leave them alone with a jaunty smirk. Ruby glances to Weiss with a reassuring smile. After the break and both Yang, Blake, and Team JNPR came back, all six finalists, including them, come on stage as the bewildered crowd cheered them on with anticipation. Then, the announcer comes onto the stage with his hand holding a card.  
The announcer first excites the moving crowd with a little tease, before announcing the top 4 bands, in no particular order. First to come is the grunge rock band, Black Kellys Underground, whom Team JNPR really like because of their surprisingly decent songs, followed by The Avenged Rascals (yes, that bastard again) and Wicked and Dastardly, a punk rock band. Finally, the last band to be called is, of course, Scarlet Uprising.  
The two bands that didn't make it clap and shake the hands of the top 4 finalists for making it. Then, with pride and disappointment, they left the stage as the announcer began to reveal the winner of the competition from fourth place. It's reasonable that that anticipation is now at an all-time high for these bands. The announcer then reveals the fourth place winner, which is given to Wicked and Dastardly. The trio takes their fourth placement with appreciation as they come to the organizers to retrieve their prize.  
Next, the announcer announces the third-place winner. "Alright, in third place, with 37.7% vote, third place goes to... Black Kellys Underground." The crowd cheers for the third-place winner, as the members happily take their third-place prize. Which leaves the first place and second place empty for either Scarlet Uprising or The Avenged Rascals. Both Team RWBY and The Avenged Rascals members anxiously waiting for the reveal. Who would win it all?  
"Alright, before we announce the first place, let's give an applause for these two bands here for making it this far, and gives their all for the Grand Finals one final time." The loud ovation from eager fans filled the stadium.  
"Well, I tell you, it was damn close between these two. How close it is? Well, the difference is only 0.4% FROM EACH OTHER!" The crowd and the bands are flabbergasted by the close margin of the vote, which also cause the anticipation to be skyrocketed beyond the sky.  
"Without further ado, the winner of the Battle of the Band is..." Everyone holds their breath as he reveals one final name, "The winner is... The Avenged Rascals, with a 57.4% vote. Congratulations, The Avenged Rascals!" Silence. Just pure silence. Everyone was shocked when they were declared as the winner. Even The Avenged Rascals members themselves didn't believe what they heard. The man, yes, that same man, comes forward to the announcer and tells him, "I think there's a mistake here. There's no way we could've won that. You saw Scarlet's performance, the crowd loves it."  
"I'm sorry, but the vote does not lie. You've won the Battle of the Band, so take it."  
"But-"  
"That's a final saying. No more rebuttal. (on the mic) The Avenged Rascals is the winner of the Battle of the Band!" The fanfare from the crowd is overtly negative, even outright booing them when they receive the prize, through no fault of their own. Team RWBY meanwhile has a pinch of defeat that they didn't win, but it doesn't matter to them anymore. Ruby approaches the man and puts up her hand. "Congrats on the win," said Ruby.  
"But, you're clearly the favourite here. The crowd cheers during your performance, even singing alongside your lead singer. So, you should have won this competition instead of us," the man remarks.  
Ruby looks at the crowd before looking back at him. "It doesn't matter to us if we win or not. We performed our best performance yet n this stage, so that's fine for us. You can take the prize," she justifies. The man pauses at first, but then concede and shakes her hand in defeat. Both Team RWBY and Team JNPR leave the stage with their head up high and smiles as bright as the sun. Ozpin looks at them pitifully and expressed his students' humbleness.  
"There's come in a time where not everything will be glamour and fame nor being the best. Sometimes, we have to be grateful for what we have, especially with whom you have, a friend, because whenever you need a little support, well...you know who to ask. I appreciate that you're letting go of the prize to the other band win because, for you, it was merely just an afterthought."  
"I don't know what to say but thanks," said Ruby. Ozpin only smiles. Weiss wraps her arm around Ruby's back and gives an admiration nod and a thumb up.  
"So, now what? We've lost the competition, so that's goodbye for the Vytal performance," said Ren.  
"Well, I guess we earned ourselves a little rest after all of those tense episodes we have been through throughout. My back is killing me right now," said Yang.  
"Well, I've heard of a restaurant that serves great food there and it's much cheaper than that five-star restaurant we dine before, so what don't we go there?" suggested Blake rather out of the blue. There's only a moment of silence before Ruby simply replies, "Sure, let's go!"  
"Yes! Finally, food!" Nora beamed with excitement.  
"I am really hungry right now, so why not?" said Jaune. Everybody leaves the backstage with joyous excitement. Ruby looks back at Ozpin, Glynda and Crimson, and invited them, "Would you like to come?"  
"No thank you," Glynda politely declines. Ruby only replies with a spirited smile and catches up with the rest of her friends. "See, I told you they had potential," Ozpin grinned.  
"Well, you prove me wrong, Mr Ozpin. You prove me wrong," Crimson acknowledged.

~"~"~"~"~

That winner announcement leaves a sour taste for everyone involved, which cause a ruckus in social media. Many people oppose the decision and start accusing them of foul play by tampering the vote to provide an underwhelming band with an edge over Scarlet Uprising. The whole fiasco causes the organizers to land on hot water.  
In the meantime, there is no current news about Scarlet Uprising's next gig. As it turns out, they focus on with their Huntsman and Huntresses' studies and put their music career behind. Sure, they got a little "Hey, I know you! You must be Scarlet Uprising!" recognition now and then, but mostly the hype surrounding them is gone now.  
One day, Tem RWBY rests on their respective bed to take their mind off for a while. Then, Ruby joyfully hums to the tune of one of their song, "Juniper". Weis accompanies it with a tap on her notebook in sync with Ruby's humming. Lastly, they sing the chorus quietly but harmoniously.  
"I can't believe Pyrrha co-wrote that. Why can't she just wrote anther song like Jaune?" asked Weiss to Ruby.  
"Well, she wasn't really into writing at all. Even with that, though, that's quite impressive," Ruby answers.  
"And you won't believe what I had in store with you," Nora shouted as she barges into the room with an ecstatic face. Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang look at her perplexed at Nora's 'enthusiasm'.  
"What's all these excitement about?' asked Yang in confusion.  
"Did you not see the news right now?" Nora blurts while she grasps her Scroll tightly. Ruby shakes her head and shrugs her shoulder. Weiss gawks. Yang does the same thing as Ruby. Blake... only raised her brow while still maintaining the calmness on her face. Then, she opens her Scroll and shows them an article. All of them take a closer look at the article and saying that they are shocked would be an understatement _._

* * *

I spare myself and for you, the readers, by giving a summary of the article in question. An anonymous staff informs the journalist of the article that the winner's vote a.k.a. The Avenged Rascals' vote, was indeed rigged, but it wasn't their work. Someone has deliberately used bots to boost their vote so that Scarlet Uprising couldn't win the competition. In reality, they rushed to find out the perpetrator of the voting rig.  
Thus, the actual winner of the competition would be Scarlet Uprising, with a vote of 57%. The leader of the band, whom Team RWBY finally know the name of (yes, I am referring to **the** man), Malach Copper, denied any involvement with the voting rig but thanked the organizers for 'finally crowning the true champions of the world.'

* * *

So, you might think they are thrilled that they finally got the prize and recognition they deserve, which are unfairly taken away from them. However, that is farther from the truth because, in reality, they were less sanguine about going back to being Scarlet Uprising for obvious reason. And Blake's statement said it all. "Why should we bother about this?"  
"Why all the frown here?" Nora asked.  
"It's over now. I don't think if we ever truly want to go back to become Scarlet Uprising," Ruby affirmed.  
"Really? Quite ashamed that you'll waste the offer we agreed a long time ago," said Ozpin, alongside Jaune, Pyrrha and Ren, who enters with him. "I thought you forgot about our promise."  
"We do but as Ruby stated, we're done with Scarlet Uprising after all the debacle," Weis expresses her concern.  
"Well, that offer is still up since it is official that you won the Battle of the Band. Do you want to walk away now?"  
"I don't know. We have to prepare ourselves again for the Vytal Festival performance, which would take a hefty amount of will, energy, time and more to pull it off," sighed Weiss. She glances at Ruby for a moment. "One more ride for the Scarlets?" asked Weiss to Ruby. Ruby only shrugs her shoulders, smirks and raises her eyebrows, telling her a three-words answer she would definitely respond.  
"One more ride," Ruby replies with them doing the fistbump. She looks at Yang and Blake and asked both of them, "How about yours? What's your opinion on getting the band back together again?"  
"I still want to play my bass again, so maybe I'm in," shrugged Blake. "Yang?"  
"I agree with Blake. I feel a need to shred again with my guitar. Sure, I'm in."  
"Weiss?" asked Ruby. Weiss ponders over the decision for a few seconds before disclosing her opinion. With a confident smirk, she replies, "We're getting the band back together again."  
"Guys?"  
"I mean it won't hurt anymore to watch Scarlet Uprising perform on the stage again," said Jaune on the behalf of Team JNPR. Ruby proudly announces, "Scarlet Uprising...is back once again."  
Everyone cheers for their return, with Blake asks a simple question, "Well, what are we for?" Everyone, except Ozpin, put their hands down and in the count of three, they raise their hand with their cry, "Let's go, Scarlet!"  
"Ugh, I still can't get over with that," Weiss grumbled. Ozpin laughs for the first time, which caught them off-guard.

~"~"~"~"~

The studio has been chaotic for the past days as Team RWBY and JNPR scrambles around the studio. They're not only practising for their Vytal Festival performance but also compose their new album, which is an unusual approach since the Vytal Festival is considered as their first concert performance, not counting the Battle of the Band.  
Jaune and Weiss exchange opinions about certain songs and its lyrics near Pyrrha's keyboard. Yang and Blake are having a private session at the back of the studio, away from any distraction. The rest of the member is having chat while waiting for Jaune and Weiss to finish. "Hey, are you guys done yet?" asked Nora.  
"Not yet, we still have some things to discuss. Please, be patient," Weiss replies.  
"C'mon, I can't hold it anymore. My thirst for listening to Yang shred her guitar is killing me right now!" Nora roars.  
"Patience, Nora," told Pyrrha. After two minutes of back and forth argument, Weiss beams brightly, "Finish! Okay, we're ready!"  
Everyone is in their position and Ruby begins the song by tapping a fast four-beat rhythm on her cymbal as the starting tempo. After catching up her beat, Weiss start a somewhat off-kilter set of chords from a key she's unfamiliar with, G minor. Yang and Blake begin their duet together, in beat with Ruby's swift drumbeat. Unlike their usual schtick, they add experimental grunge and punk sound like they previously used for "Teenage Revolution" and "Royal Brat". However, unlike those, which are more pop-oriented, these songs are more gritty in nature to an extent, thanks to the influence of Black Kellys Underground and The Avenged Rascals.  
Lastly, Pyrrha has now been the official member of the band, promoted up to be the keyboardist and as a part-time songwriter, in which she had a private lesson with Weiss just a week before. Everyone is happy with her inauguration as the official member but none is prouder to her than Jaune. After the practice, he approaches her with redden cheek. "Congrats, Pyrrha for becoming an official member of Scarlet Uprising," Jaune shyly said.  
"Thanks," Pyrrha innocently answers. Then, unexpectedly, she leans over Jaune with a sly leer and she bit her lip lustfully. Jaune is taken aback by the situation.  
"Unless you want it to be more... explicit than that," she teases. Jaune's face turns hot red and his heart flutters. Then, Pyrrha laughs at his reaction, and so does everyone else. That when he realises he was duped by her.  
"Who taught you to flirt like that?" Jaune wondered.  
"Oh, it's Weiss's idea," Pyrrha replies. Jaune glares at Weiss but she only gives a mischievous wink and smug.  
Thus, within a few weeks before their Vytal Festival performance, their second album, White Rose, has been released, composed of 13, mostly flower-based songs alongside the live version of 'My Heart Does Not Belong' and 'Colours United' as a hidden track. This album is much similar but ambitious than the previous, featuring the aforementioned sound with a little pinch of other genres while still retaining their indie root. Those tracks are as followed;

> ** White Rose **
> 
>   1. White Rose
>   2. Edelweiss
>   3. Beautiful Reverie
>   4. Dream Below Horizon
>   5. Ethereal Summer
>   6. Deathly Nightshade
>   7. Will You Dance with Me?
>   8. I'll Wait For You, Juniper
>   9. I am Gone
>   10. Pink Camellia (Longing For You)
>   11. Abor Vieta
>   12. Carnation
>   13. White & Red
>   14. My Heart Does Not Belong - Battle of the Band version
>   15. Colours United - Battle of the Band version
> 


Of course, people were sceptical of their decision since it was released mere weeks before their Vytal Festival performance and months after the release of their debut title, which is unusual for a new band.  
Regardless, that doesn't dissuade people from not buying the album. White Rose has become a fastest-selling album in Remnant music history, the firs since Forrest J.O. achieved this feat during the height of his career. Some of the songs in the album, such as the title track, 'Eldweiss' and 'Ador Vieta' reached the Billboard Hot Top 100, with 'White Rose' and 'Edelweiss' chart at second and first place respectively.  
With a strong and positive reception the second album has received, Team RWBY and JNPR are now more confident in themselves as they are ready themselves for what probably their performance of their lifetime. Although, they still have the feeling of anxiety in them.

The crowd are cheering and chanting their name as Team RWBY and JNPR waited anxiously backstage. There, Ruby peeks at the crowd and feel uneasy when she sees thousands of people filling up the stadium, not only to watch the battle, a tradition for the Vytal Festival but also their first, special performance. So, pressure runs high in them, but Team JNPR reassured them with their presence that they can do this.  
Both were participating in the battle itself, manages to advance to the semi-final. When the last battle of the day is finished, then, Scarlet Uprising would be performing live on stage. Not that this is their first time performing live in front of millions of people, but they still have shivers of nervousness in them.  
"Alright, guys. This is it. Our first performance and concert, in front of thousands of people, millions in their home. Are you guys excited?" Ruby prodded. Weiss, Blake and Yang nod and gives her a confident grin. "We're doing it just for the heck of it. Okay. So, we will rock this stage like we never care at all. So, are you ready?"  
"Yes," the rest screamed.  
"Are you ready?!"  
"Yes, we are."  
They all reach their hands out and raise in unison. "Let's go!" they cried passionately. _We are ready,_ everyone thought as they kept repeating the word.

"And now, this is the performance you've all been waiting for. Let's giddy up for, the one and only, Scarlet Uprising!" When the announcer calls up their name, they march on to the stage with pride and confidence. Everyone waved their hands at their excited fans as the cheer grew louder and louder. After they take their place on the stage, Weiss yelled to the crowd, "Hello, Vytal!"  
"Thank you to all of you to come to the Vytal Festival. We are honoured to be the special guest per se for this lovely day. So, are you guys ready!?" Ruby continues. The crowd responds with a boisterous cry of "Yeah!" Everyone checks their instrument and mic to see if everything is good. They all give a thumb-up to Ruby that they all set and ready to go.  
" _1\. 2. 1, 2, 3, GO!_ " Ruby screamed while clapping both of her drumstick in the air.

_** THE END **  
_


End file.
